Major chemical companies' stock prices declined in Europe

(ICIS) -- Major chemical companies' stock prices declined in Europe on Friday as commodity values tumbled in early trading and sell-offs continued worldwide on fears over economic growth and stability in the US and Europe. Markets are losing confidence in the ability of politicians or the financial sector to rebalance the global economy, traders and brokers said.


German majors BASF and Bayer were among the biggest losers in early trading, shedding 3.5% and 2% to trade at EUR 54.63 (USD 76.94) and EUR 49 per share respectively on the German bourse, the DAX. The DAX was down by 2.6% overall in early trading, while European chemical companies lost 1.74% of their value on Friday on average.


In the US, Dow Chemical ended Thursday down 10.2% after shares traded at USD 30.31. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which tracks the value of the biggest publicly listed firms in the US, dropped by 4.3% overall on Thursday.


The falling stock prices came as traders sold off shares after becoming increasingly nervous over the stability of the global economy. Despite a deal brokered in the US to raise the country's government-mandated debt ceiling by USD 2.4 trillion on 2 August, many analysts remain concerned about the country's economy and expect bad news when the Department of Labor releases non-farm payroll figures later on Friday.


MRC

Asia petrochemicals fall on bearish global demand outlook

(ICIS) -- Asian spot prices of petrochemical products fell on Friday, in line with declining crude futures, as market players are worried about the possibility of another global economic recession that will weaken demand for commodities.


At 16:03 hours Singapore time (08:03 hours GMT), US crude futures for delivery in September were down by USD 1.71/bbl at USD 84.92/bbl, after plunging by more than USD 5/bbl overnight. The plunge in global crude futures has caused Asian naphtha prices to fall.


Kumho Petrochemical, the biggest producer of synthetic rubber in Asia, is planning to reduce its buying ideas for butadiene (BD), a feedstock that is used in the production of synthetic rubbers such as styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) and butadiene rubber (BR), to USD 3,500-3,600/tonne FOB for August, the source said.


MRC

Stocks in North American chemical companies plunged

(ICIS) -- Stocks in North American chemical companies plunged on Thursday - with several falling more than 7% - as the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost nearly 513 points. The index closed at 11,384, down 4%.


Among North American chemical companies, the declines were widespread and steep. Companies losing 7% or more include catalyst producer Albemarle, Cabot, Calumet, Celanese, CF Industries, Cytec Industries, Dow Chemical, WR Grace, Kronos, LyondellBasell, Methanex, Mosaic, Quaker Chemical, Rockwood, Spartech, A Schulman, Solutia, Sunoco, TPC Group, Valero and Westlake Chemical. The list represents nearly every chemical sector.


Stock even fell for Lubrizol and Arch Chemicals, both of which are pending acquisition targets.
The chemical companies hit the hardest had released their quarterly earnings in the past few days.
Polyurethanes and titanium dioxide (TiO2) producer Huntsman fell by nearly 31% - the largest drop among the companies followed by ICIS.


MRC

Shares of petrochemical companies in Asia tumbled on Friday

(ICIS) -- Shares of petrochemical companies in Asia tumbled on Friday in line with sharp falls across regional bourses on concerns over a possible demand slump, with fears of a double-dip recession hounding the global markets. The Asian markets took the cue from the 4.31% plunge in US equities overnight, which was accompanied by a slump in US crude prices.


Recent data from the US and the debt crisis in the eurozone do not inspire confidence about the strength of the recovery of the global economy from the 2009 recession. In the US, consumer spending fell for the first time in nearly two years, logging in a 0.2% decline, while its manufacturing sector grew at its lowest rate in two years in July.


There are concerns that the troubles in the western economies may drag down Asian economies, which managed to recover faster from the global recession, but are currently dealing with high inflation.


MRC

Sipchem invests in a new center for Research and Development

(Plastemart) -- The Saudi International Petrochemical Company (Sipchem) announced that it has spent over SR150 mln to construct its corporate Research and Product & Application Center - at the Dhahran Techno Valley (DTV) of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM).


Sipchem has previously signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Petroleum and Minerals and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals for the establishment of the center on a 15000 square meters area at DTV. Based on this memorandum Sipchem shall construct, manage and operate this center.


Sipchem has already started the construction of the center at the site. The center has been designed on the most modern building designs that contain state-of-the-art laboratories and equipment with the objective of developing the usage of polymer products and the downstream industries in the Kingdom which currently include more than 860 plants. The company targets to start operation of the center in the middle of 2012.


MRC